Students from military families often bring a wealth of experiences and skills rarely available to those from conventional homes: Advice on making the most of a UCAS application

Ed Harris, Senior Education Officer at Directorate Children and Young People, outlines in the link below how the difficulties often associated with military life can actually play a positive role in developing key skills, and why students from a military family should be encouraged to talk about this in their personal statement.

Ed discusses how Service children may have had to manage emotions and fears about their deployed parent, while still maintaining their academic progress, and taking on additional responsibilities at home to support their mum, dad, or other siblings. This demonstrates considerable character, high levels of self-management, and significant maturity; all traits valued by HE institutions. In addition students who have first-hand experience of an overseas assignment will see the world from a range of perspectives, and will be more likely to apply these perspectives to their university experiences and studies.